First and Last, Future and Past
by Brittanacorn
Summary: Brittany is rainbows and sunshine, but has many dark skeletons looming in her closet. Santana is sullen glares and scowls, but yearns for some light. The two have inevitably met in the halls of McKinley Middle School, and their lives will never be the same. For better or worse, they'll be each other's first love, and last; be in each others' future, overcome their past.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: As you can probably tell from my Pen Name, Brittana is definitely my favorite ship. Glee and their relationship have done so much for me. And yet I feel like Glee really let Brittana and all the Brittana fans down. Out of Finchel, Klaine, and Brittana, they got the least amount of showing, and it was a true injustice. I believe so much more could've been done with it, and I believe they have the deepest connection. I wish the media would do more with lesbian couples, but they always seem to get the short end of the stick. So I've dedicated myself to writing a very long and extensive fanfiction. The story starts in middle school, and I plan on having it continue to high school and beyond. Please bear with me on this roller coaster ride of a story and enjoy the adventure with me. Reviews are encouraged and greatly appreciated, as well as critiques, suggestions, and requests. Enjoy! :)**

The decrepit halls of McKinley Middle School had been vacant for at least 45 minutes or so. The Latina stalked down them, arms crossed, scowl plastered in its usual place. Once in front of her locker, she quickly put in the combination and flung the door open with a bang. Brows furrowed, she ripped out her backpack, yanked the zipper open, and began jamming textbooks and notebooks inside. It wasn't until she slammed the door shut with a satisfying clang that she noticed her mohawk-wearing tool of a best friend leaning nonchalantly on the locker next to hers, looking rather amused. She rolled her eyes.

"Real smooth, Satan."

"Oh stuff it Puckerman. Fucking Twatberry had it coming to her. Somebody has to knock that little Jewsus off her pedestal atop snob-fucking-hill once in awhile."

"And that always has to be you why?" he questioned, eyeing her and trying to contain his laughter. Nothing worse than pissing off an already enraged girl from Lima Heights Adjacent. He had had enough bruises and broken bones to prove that one.

"Because nobody else will! They're content to just talk about her behind her back. But that's not good enough. THEN she has the audacity to be excited-yes I shit you not, excited-that everyone talks about her because "publicity is publicity!" What kind of crack-head way of thinking is that? She's got no right to think she's a shining start 'til she earns it, and she better end all that egotistical bullshit 'afores my fists end that atrocity of a nose that adorns her face."

"First off, enough of the Jew-bashing. Don't give all us Jews a bad name just cuz she's crazy as a dradel. And secondly—off!"

"SSSH! Do you hear that? What's music doing coming from the gym at this time of day?"

The Latina dragged a gasping Puckerman off towards the gymnasium.

The music wafted from the gymnasium doorway, but the place looked pretty deserted. Cautiously, Santana poked her head around the door. She saw someone, dancing? Really? At this hour? But sure enough, a blonde ponytail was whirring around and around. Her eyed travelled down poised shoulders to bare, long dancer's legs, spinning in perfectly synchronized pirouettes. Her eyes seemed glazed over, hard in concentration, her lips in a firm straight line.

"Keep your shoulders back! Faster, faster! C'mon now, Coach Sylvester isn't going to want someone this sloppy on her Cheerios! You're lucky I was able to schedule a meeting for you with her today! This is the first year she's decided to have a cheerleading squad at the middle school level, and I will not have you mess up this opportunity! Get it together Brittany!" The shouts came from a middle-aged blonde woman, and from the uncanny resemblance, it was unmistakably the girl's mother. Brittany? What a lovely name. At the sound of her mother's shouts, Brittany had looked up, lost her focus, and was on the ground. She didn't look injured, but there was definite hurt in her eyes.

"Sloppy? Are you blind? From where I was standing, it looked perfect." Santana had strode into the gymnasium, arms crossed, and smirk firm in place as she bore her eyes into Brittany's mother. The woman was a classic bitch, one of those overbearing mothers who pressured their kids to carry out the dreams they themselves had failed to make come true. She glided over to Brittany and offered her a hand to help her up. Brittany looked up at the hand cautiously, looked over at her mother, then up into Santana's eyes. The Latina had an intimidating presence for someone so short, but her eyes looked warm and inviting. A slow smile spread across the Latina's face.

"C'mon Britts, I won't bite, I promise. Just let me help you up." Brittany just stared up at her. She'd never heard such velvet to her ears; it gave her butterflies. With a quick blush and downcast eyes Brittany took Santana's hand and stood up. Santana was quite amused.

"I beg your pardon? Just who the hell do you think you are? This is my daughter and our practice time and none of your goddamn business. Now let's take it from the top Brittany. Coach Sylvester will be here any minute." Santana gawked at this woman. Who the hell did she think she was speaking to? She was about to go all Lima Heights on her ass when someone broke in.

"No time for more practice, I'm already here. Let's make this quick, I've got a lasagna date with Alan from the New York Times. It's time for my annual interview. Seeing as he made such a long trip, I shouldn't keep him waiting terribly long at Breadstix. I love arriving fashionably late, but after an hour or so they tend to leave. So let's see whatcha got Brittany. I don't like to be kept waiting." Coach Sylvester took a seat on the bleachers and looked onward expectantly. Santana felt Brittany's hand tense against hers.

"Go on Brittany, show Coach Sue what you've got. You're amazing. And I don't have to lie; I don't even know you. So take my word for it. Go get her! I'll go watch on the sidelines. Good luck! Though you don't need it." With a wink and a smile Santana let go of her hand and went to go sit next to Coach Sue. She received a glare from Brittany's mom, and a quizzical look from Coach Sue, but neither said anything. They all eagerly awaited Brittany's performance. Brittany stood in the center of the gymnasium and faced the three.

"Hi. My name is Brittany S. Pierce. I'm here to audition for the McKinley Middle School cheer squad, totally of my own free will. Let me show you what I can do." Her stance was tense and her voice was monotone, with her eyes downcast to the floor. However, when her mother started the music, everything changed. That glazed over look was back in her eyes. This music was very upbeat. Brittany began with several spectacular cartwheels, which she turned into backflips. Then she began to dance, but not the ballet that Santana had witnessed earlier; this was some kind of free-style hip-hop. Brittany's body was so in-tune with the music and moved so fluidly that Santana was mesmerized. Surely her mother would be proud of this? A quick glance proved otherwise; Brittany's mother had a scowl plastered on her face. Coach Sue was unreadable. After a few more hip-hop moves, Brittany broke out into the perfect pirouettes that Santana had seen earlier. She didn't think it was possible, but they were even more spot on now. Then she leaped, and twirled around. At this point she ran to the sidelines and grabbed some pom-poms, and began to do a cheer.

"Give me an M! Give me a C! Give me a K-I-N-L-E-Y! What does that spell? McKinley! What does that spell? McKinley! Gooooooo team!" The cheer had been complete with kicks and outstretched arms and jumps. At this point Coach Sylvester stood with her clipboard.

"I've seen enough, Brittany. I'll call you within the week to let you know how you did. I must say, for my first try-out, I was pleasantly surprised. You've got great athleticism and a natural talent you've clearly worked to perfect. I wouldn't worry too much about if you made it or not. You've got the makings of a head cheerleader." She turned to Santana. "Official tryouts begin next week Monday, right after school here in the gym. I'm excited to see you there, if you think you can handle it." Santana just gawked as a cocky Sue Sylvester shook Mrs. Pierce's hand and strode out of the gym, her navy blue track suit rustling along with each step.

"Oh my goodness Brittany, that was amazing!" Santana shouted, and ran over to hug the girl. The tall blonde squeaked in excitement and hugged her back. Then Santana realized that she was actually hugging someone, and quickly pulled back. What had gotten into her?

"I never did catch your name by the way?" The blonde mused, cocking her head to the side like an adorable little puppy dog.

"Santana. Santana Lopez. You must be new here. I think I may have seen you in the hall a couple times. And you may be in my math class?" Santana realized that she indeed looked familiar, but not exceptionally familiar. Not like Santana had been staring or anything.

"Yeah, we just moved here a few weeks ago. So are you really going to try out for cheerleading?! It'd be so much fun to do together! And by the time we're in high school, we'll be totally popular and like, rule the school!" Brittany giggled. She didn't really care about ruling the school, but people in the movies always seemed to, and as Lord Tubbington, her cat, always told her, it never hurt to impersonate the movies.

"Hmm. I never really thought about it." Santana pondered. Rule the school? Really? In a frilly little uniform? But if mindless hours of television and drama shows had taught her anything, it was that the hot and the fierce always landed on top, and this may be a sure fire way to get there. And hey, if she happened to make a new blonde best friend, so be it. It wasn't like she needed friends, but if she had to have some, they may as well be talented and hot. Wait, had she just called Brittany hot? She blushed and thanked her stars that her skin was dark enough to hide it. Before she could answer Brittany, her mother cut in.

"C'mon Brittany, we have to go. No point in hanging around here any longer, the tryout is over." Mrs. Pierce used a monotone voice and icy eyes. Brittany instantly lost her smile and looked down at the floor.

"Well, I have to go back to my locker, I forgot my math book. Can you wait here while I go grab it?"

"I don't have time for that! Your father will be home in half an hour and dinner isn't even started yet! Just walk home, it'll do you some good to get some exercise. You looked tired out halfway through your routine." With that, Mrs. Pierce turned and left, leaving Santana to gawk for the 3rd time in the last 20 minutes. Next to her, she heard Brittany sniffle, and turned to see her starting to cry, which instantly broke Santana's heart.

"Hey, Britts? It's ok, please don't cry. I'm getting a ride home with Puckerman, and I'm sure he'll give you a ride home too. Hey Puckerman, got room in your truck for one more?" she shouted at Puck, who was leaning against the gym door.

"The more the merrier, as they say," he said while flashing his pearly whites. Santana rolled her eyes.

"Ok, thank you San. I can't believe you're being so nice to me, but please don't ever stop. I don't make friends very well." With that, she took ahold of Santana's hand. Santana looked down at their hands and smiled.

"Brittany, anyone would be lucky to have such a sweet and talented girl as their friend. Now c'mon, let's go get your math book and maybe go get some ice cream?" She wiped her tears away and led her towards the lockers.

"Yay! I love ice cream! Especially when it melts, it's like cold soup!" Santana giggled. Oh boy, just what had she gotten herself into?


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey guys. I'm a little skeptical about how close Brittany and Santana are right away, with the nicknames and all. But I just envision it as being an "at first sight" kind of thing with them, you know? Let me know if it seems plausible. I hope to update this soon, and I apologize if I don't always update as fast as I should, but know my heart is definitely in this story. Enjoy and review. Happy reading! :)**

The three made their way back to Brittany's locker at a leisurely pace. Brittany, luckily, had cheered up quite a bit now that her hag of a mother was gone, and was bouncing as she walked, a wide smile in place. Santana smiled too, uncharacteristically, causing Puck to raise his eyebrows at her curiously, which she returned with a glare. Suddenly, Brittany, who had been leading the way, stopped, causing Santana, who had been busy glaring at Puck, to run completely into her. Caught off guard, she wrapped her arms around Brittany from behind, steadying them both. Brittany gasped and Santana flushed as she realized she had her hands on the blonde's-uh-chest. Hurriedly, she pulled away.

"OMG Brittany, I'm so sorry, I-I-I-"

"Oh San San, its ok, no biggie! What's a hug among friends?" she winked, then frowned, and looked around again.

"Britts, what's wrong?" Santana asked, but she already knew. This was Ohio, Brittany was new, and she didn't want a misconstrued lesbian reputation already. Neither did Santana, for that matter. Shit, shit, shit. She'd have to transfer schools, and—

"I don't remember where my locker is." The blonde's eyes had gotten all big and puppy like, complete with a quivering lip and watering eyes.

Of course that's what it was. Santana sighed with relief. Get it together Lopez. Let's see, how were they gonna figure out where the hell Brittany's locker was? The girl didn't have anything with her, where she'd have it written down. Not like she would've thought to write it down anyway, probably. Normally Santana would be rolling her eyes, spitting insults at this girl, and storming away, annoyed beyond all hell. But for some reason she couldn't fathom, none of those ugly qualities of hers were surfacing. There was just a clawing ache in her chest, brought about by Brittany's sadness. She'd give anything to help this girl, but why? Where the hell was Snix at?

"Brittany, do you remember anything about your locker? Like maybe what classrooms its by? Any windows? Posters? Anything?" C'mon, the girl seemed pretty perceptive. How could those baby blues not be? Wait, what was this constant thing about eyes all of a sudden? Damnit. Whatever, no time for that right now. The blonde had to remember SOMETHING, right? Anything. There was only so much hide and seek Santana could take with a locker, even if it WAS for Brittany.

"Uuuhm, OH! I remember! There's a cute little poster on the wall with a unicorn, talking about how magical reading is! I remember cuz it was so cute that I almost took in and hung it in my locker but then I realized it was too big and then I'd have to fold the unicorn and then the unicorn would get damaged and wouldn't be as magical and then I'd be a unicorn murderer and then even if I'd get immortality like the weird guy without the nose in the Harry Potter movies, I'd feel just AWFUL, cuz I just looove unicorns, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, ok Britts, I get it. I think I know where your locker is. C'mon." Santana took the blonde's hand and began leading her towards the library. Where else would they hang such a corny ass poster? If any jocks had seen it, it'd have been torn down by now. Those boneheads never bothered walking by the library. Unlike Santana, they had no problem being Lima losers all their lives, wasting their lives drinking in the bars, reliving the "glory days." No, not like Santana at all. She would get out of this hell hole at all costs, even if it meant endless hours of study. Not that anyone would believe her to be a straight "A" student, with just about as many detentions as aced tests. Once they were next to the library, low and behold, there was the unicorn poster, and right next to it, a locker with a paper "Brittany S. Pierce" sign, written in crayon.

"OMI-GOSH, here's my locker San! I wrote my name on it so I wouldn't lose it. Who knew it'd be hiding from me anyways?! Silly locker. And I wrote my combination on it too, so I'll never forget it! I'm so smart sometimes, I surprise myself!"

"Yeah, well, ya see Britts, that may not be the best idea, cuz-" Santana's warning fell silent as Brittany excitedly opened her locker, only to be greeted by an avalanche of spring loaded slushies. The poor girl was covered head to toe in blue, red, and purple flavored ice, shocked, shivering, and cold. Her scream rang through the empty halls and pierced Santana's heart more than her ears. Even Puck seemed concerned, silent, with arms crossed. Brittany began loudly sobbing. Santana began seeing red.

"Who the HELL would do something like this?! I swear to gawd when I find those fucking bastards I'm gonna go ALL Lima Heights! What fucking gas station serves slushies in the fall anyways? Who the HELL wants a slushie when its freezing? I'm gonna go to EVERY gas station and beat the shit out of whatever pimple face slack jawed numb nuts sold ten slushies to some douchefuck middle schooler. What did they THINK would happen? I-"

"Satan, why don't you unclench your fists and take care of the problem at hand right now. You're just making it worse." Puck gestured towards Brittany. She was sobbing even louder now and she was shaking and looking at Santana and she looked so so sad…and maybe even a little, scared? Oh my goodness…anything but that.

"Brittany? Brittany, I'm so sorry. I'm new to this whole- people thing. C'mon, let's get you washed up, okay? There's a bathroom just down the hall." Santana smiled as sweetly as she ever had, and she held out a hand for Brittany to take. She already potentially scared the poor girl with her crazy ranting. Looks like Snix wasn't gone after all. Brittany looked at Santana, tears streaming down her face, but the sobbing had stopped, and they were silent now. Santana's calm seemed to have been contagious. She took the Latina's hand and they hurriedly made their way to the bathroom, leaving a slushie trail for Puck to clean up after them.

They entered the bathroom and Santana led Brittany to the sink. A silence had fallen over them, but there were really no words to be shared at the moment. Santana just wanted to rinse the freezing ice off the girl and hopefully bring the sunshine back to her face with her clean blonde hair. She ran the water warm and began rinsing the slushie from her hair, the blonde still whimpering slightly, each sob wracking her frame. Santana felt her eyes burn. She promised herself she wouldn't cry, especially not in front of someone she barely knew. Not that Brittany would mind in the least, she wasn't worried about that. But Santana Lopez was not known to cry.

The clothes were going to be the hard part. They were completely soaked and stained. If Santana learned anything today about Brittany's mother, it was that she would not be pleased to see Brittany come home like this. Shit. She'd have to bring Brittany home with her and wash these. They were both pretty skinny, and Santana had plenty of clothes. Britts could find something, she was sure. Maybe nothing with unicorns and glitter on it, but hey, to be fair most Latinas didn't dress that way. How she would explain bringing a friend over was another story. She didn't exactly do friends, and her parents knew that. They'd know something was up. What the hell WAS up, anyways? What was making Santana be so damn nice? She shook her head and grabbed some paper towels to start getting the big chunks of slushie off of the blonde's clothes. Brittany just looked at the floor, eyes puffy and red, all traces of happy bubbliness gone. Santana felt something wet and hot roll down her cheek, first on the right, then on the left. Once. Twice. Why was the slushie splashing on her face hot? Unless…oh shit. She hurriedly tried to wipe them off, but Brittany had to look up just as she did. Damn it all.

"San…why are you crying?" Brittany cocked her head to the side in that cute little puppy dog way, and that just made even more tears come from the Latina. Who on Earth could do this to such a sweet and vulnerable girl? Everything about the girl screamed happiness and rainbows and innocence. What kind of sick twisted individual would want to hurt someone like that? And this was just middle school. What was going to happen to Brittany in high school? Santana didn't notice she was making gasping sobs until she felt Brittany wrap her arms around her hesitantly and start rubbing her back. She couldn't do anything except wrap her arms tightly around the blonde and sob into her neck. She felt so weak and so stupid and she vowed she'd make up for that later. But right now she was powerless to fight it.

"I'm so sorry Brittany. I'm so so sorry." Her voice cracked, and she had meant to say more, but nothing else would come out, and she just kept sputtering out apologies. Brittany didn't say anything, just rubbed her back and stroked her hair, with lots of "shhh"s and "It's ok"s laced in between. Finally Santana sniffled and the two broke apart. Santana just smiled up at Brittany.

"And here I was supposed to b the one taking care of you." Santana laughed, and went to wipe her eyes and clean up her mascara. Brittany laughed.

"Oh please San, you've done more for me in one day than any friend I've ever had." The words both warmed and chilled Santana's heart. How someone so sweet and dear could have been treated so poorly by others was really troubling. Well, there'd be no more of that. She looked at herself in the mirror and said an oath inside her head. I, Santana Lopez, hereby pledge to be the sole protector of Brittany S. Pierce, that which is made up of all the good in the world. I will be the best friend she's ever had, I will protect her from others as well as Snix, and I will make sure that her world is filled with nothing but sunshine and rainbows. And I will never, ever, do anything to hurt her. She smiled at herself in the mirror, and turned back to Brittany. Her clothes were all stained, but other than that she was clean, and her smile was plastered back on her face.

"What do you say we head back to my house for some ice cream instead? We have got to get you into some clean clothes. Heck, maybe we'll be nice and even let Puck have some."

"Oh my gosh, we've left him alone for quite awhile! How rude of us! C'mon San, let's go!" And with that Brittany S. Pierce tugged a Miss Santana Lopez out of the girls bathroom and into a whole new world.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: Hey everyone, I'm so sorry that updating has taken so long! I'll try to stay on top of this story more. I have a lot of ideas, and I was just not sure how to start panning them out. But I think this chapter is taking it in the right direction. And trust me, after this chapter, things will start picking up a bit more. If there are any typos I apologize, but hey, it is like 5AM after all. Enjoy! Thank you for reading. Reviews and corrective criticisms are welcome and encouraged. Thank you all!**_

The girls met Puck in the now pristine hallway. The three just looked at each other and giggled, making their way to the parking lot. Puck's truck was the only one left in the lot, black, with huge tires and dirt to match. They all climbed into the front of the pick-up, with the Latina in the middle. Brittany had been through a lot already today, she didn't need to put up with sitting next to Puck on top of it.

"So, where to Satan?" He joked with a grin.

"Home. Where else Puckerman? Not like you have anywhere else to be."

"Ouch, put them horns away girl!" Santana punched him in the arm. Brittany just laughed at their easy banter.

"What's so funny over there Sunshine?" Santana mused.

"You guys! So what, are you guys like, brother and sister?" This was met by mounds of laughter.

"Goodness no! I just haven't been able to shake him since pre-school. We've lived by each other forever, and our parents are decent friends." Santana explained.

"Hey, you wouldn't have it any other way Satan. Who else would you hang around if it weren't for me?" She just scowled at him.

"What's he mean Santy? You must have lots of friends!" Brittany looked mildly confused.

"Surprisingly Princess, with you and Puck, that makes two friends for this badass." She shrugged.

"What? Seriously? But Santana, you're…you're the nicest person I've ever met!" The blonde pouted and looked genuinely upset. Puck laughed sharply, causing another punch from the Latina.

"Shut it Noah! Well Britts, I can be surprisingly hard to get along with. And I don't like most people. I mean, we live in Lima. Not too surprising, right? People just aren't the greatest here. I mean, just look at your first day. You got a slushie facial because you're nice. Not too great if you ask me. Speaking of that, don't you worry. Once I find out who did it, they're toast." She ended with punching her fist into her hand for emphasis.

"Oh San, really, you don't need to worry about it. I've never been too good at making friends. It's just teasing the new kid, right? Like what, initia-initia- what's that word?"

"Initiation," Puck snickered.

"Yeah, well, this isn't some goddamn sorority. It's McKinley Middle School, not exactly prestigious enough for anyone to have the right to do anything of that sort. But hey, we don't need them anyways. We've got all we need right here, ain't that right?" Santana uncharacteristically smiled and put her arms around her two friends.

"Hey, maybe Brittany needs a little initiation into our gang, aye San?" he winked. Santana looked over at Brittany with an amused grin, eyeing her up and down jokingly.

"Hmm, you may be onto something Noah."

"Wait a minute San! You aren't gonna slushie me too, are you? And I thought we were getting ice cream?" Brittany looked doe eyed.

"Of course Britts. First things first. Step on it Puck! We wants to get our frozen desserts ON!"

"You got it short stuff! Ooof!"

"I told you to STOP calling me that!

About twenty minutes later they were in Santana's driveway in Lima Heights. The house had a large, modest exterior. The yard was well kept and there was a flower bed to the left and a vegetable garden to the right. A basketball hoop hung from the garage, and near the front door were some pink flamingos. All in all, it was a very warm and inviting place. Brittany was smiling ear to ear.

"Oh wow Sanny, your house looks awesome! I just love the flamingos! What're their names?! Oooh Oooh can I name them? How about Pinky and…hmm…what's another good flamingo name? Puck?"

"Well Britt, I've never really thought about it…" Puck answered, scratching the back of his head.

"How about we name them Pinky and Pinky Jr.? The one is smaller anyways?" Santana ventured. She was quite amused at how happy they made the blonde.

"OmiGOSH San what a great idea! YAY! I'm so glad we're best friends!" With that the tall girl ran up to the shorter girl and wrapped her in a very, very tight hug, lifting her off the ground.

Santana smiled and laughed, warm and deep. The scent of vanilla and something else she couldn't place enveloped her, and her eyes were dazzled by sunshiney blonde hair. The fact that she could make anybody this happy made her happy as well. It was rare that she had this effect on people.

"I'm glad we're best friends too Brit Britts. Now let go of me before I pass out and let's go get some ice cream!" she gasped. Yes she was happy, but man that was a tight hug!

"Hey, I thought I was your best friend!" joked Puckerman.

"Hah, in your dreams Noah!" teased Santana, who took off running for the front door to escape from a chasing Puck.

The three traipsed in through the front door, to find a note on the counter in the kitchen:

_**Santanita,**_

_**Papi and I will be working late. Casserole is in the fridge. Don't wait up. I'll probably be able to get off a little earlier tomorrow and we can spend some time together. Don't forget that your cousin is coming over this weekend, so please keep the house tidy. If you could put the dishes away for me I'd appreciate it mija. I'll still be up to kiss you goodnight tonight.**_

_**All my love,**_

_**Mami (muchos besos y abrazos)**_

Brittany couldn't really decipher Santana's reaction to said note. She didn't hide it from Puck or Brittany, but throughout she would smile and frown. Puck announced he was going to use the bathroom and ran upstairs.

"Are your parents gone a lot San?"

"Well, Papi is a doctor, and Mami is a nurse, so they work a lot. Most of the time I have the house to myself, which I don't really mind. Puck is always here anyways. But it does get lonely. I think that's why Puck hangs out here a lot, to make me feel a little better. He's very protective. I feel like I keep him from other guys his own age, but he always just shuts me up when I say that. He's a really good guy, despite what you may hear about him. He's really the only one I trust outside mi familia. Heck, he is family by now. And so are you BritBrit." She smiled at this last part genuinely, and turned to the fridge.

"Do you want something to drink?" When silence answered her question, Santana turned around, to find Brittany staring at the floor, her eyes watery. "Hey, you ok?" Blue eyes looked up to meet brown ones.

"Y-yeah. I'm sorry San. It's just-just, well, nobody's ever said anything like that to me before…" and now the blonde was nervously laughing and crying at the same time. The Latina walked over to her and wrapped her up in a hug.

"Hey, don't cry! You better get used to all this sentimental crap, cuz you're one of us now! And you deserve all the sentimentality in the world! Not that you should ever mention I have a soft side at school. I mean, I do have my reputation as the badass from Lima Heights Adjacent to uphold." She winked and smiled at Brittany, pulling out of the hug. Brittany giggled.

"Haha. I've turned you into a softie San." Brittany smiled a very wide, very adorable smile.

"Hey now, let's not go THAT far. Anyways, how bout that ice cream? Or did you forget about that?" The Latina joked.

"Oh my goddess, the ice cream! Yay yay YAY! What kind do you have San?!" The blonde was clapping and jumping up for joy.

"Well let's see…we have chocolate or vanilla? I know that's kind of boring, but we have chocolate and caramel sauce…sprinkles…I think we have some chocolate chips and candy around here somewhere…whip cream…hmm..what do you say to sundaes?"

"Sundaes? On a Monday? Are you sure that's legal San?" Brittany pondered aloud. She eagerly awaited Santana's response. She really wanted ice cream but she didn't want to get in any trouble. Santana smiled.

"Well, as far as I know it is. But if you want we can keep this our little secret. *wink* So should we be nice and let Puck have one too?"

"Well, since ol' Puckasaurus drove, I think it'd be nice to let him have one too." The mohawk hero had made his way downstairs and was now in the kitchen as well.

"Fine, but you have to make ours too!" Santana shouted, throwing him the scooper which he caught easily.

"Yeah yeah, I knew there was a catch to having all the muscles. Stand aside ladies, I got this." Brittany giggled. Santana just rolled her eyes.

After much deliberation, the sundaes were made. Santana kept it simple, with vanilla ice cream, caramel, and bananas. Puck just had chocolate ice cream and some whip cream. Brittany had chocolate and vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, gummy worms, and whip cream. It was definitely a sight to behold. While eating she somehow got whip cream on her nose. Santana laughed.

"Hey Britts, ya got a lil something on your nose."

"Really? How'd that happen?" She began trying to get the whip cream off with her tongue, to no avail. Santana laughed and stood to get napkins. When she turned back, Puck and Brittany were laughing hysterically. Puck had given himself a whip cream moustache and beard. Brittany now had a whip cream mole and unibrow.

"Oh my gawd, you guys are such animals!" She laughed for the umpteenth time that day. Geez her face was starting to hurt from all this smiling.

"Aww c'mon San, you're one of us! I think you need some sideburns." Puck waggled his eyebrows, the whip cream now dripping on his face.

"Yeah San, one of us! C'mon, it's fun!" Brittany encouraged and laughed, whip cream dripping down her nose. When Santana didn't make move, Brittany and Puck looked at each other, then back at Santana, smiling mischievously.

"Guys, don't you dare…guys…aaack!" Puck and Brittany had ambushed Santana and were now holding her down, intent on drawing on her with whip cream.

"What do you think she needs Britt?" Puck asked, laughing at a struggling Santana.

"Hmm…sideburns!" Brittany had her legs down, bouncing and laughing the whole time.

"Puck…Noah, don't you dare! Don't you-" Her words were ceased with whip cream to the mouth and the sides of her face. She spit the whip cream at his shirt.

"Ahh! Noah, you are so fucking dead! You too Brittany! Ahh! It's everywhere!" She was laughing in between her yelling, and the whip cream was dripping down her neck. Gross.

"All right Brittany, I think it's time for your initiation." Santana smirked wickedly. Puck's face lit up.

"Yeah, all right Satan!" Puck high-fived the Latina. Brittany gulped.

After they cleaned themselves and the kitchen up, and put the dishes away, the trio made their way upstairs to Santana's room. It was spacious, dark in color, with a bed with a red comforter in the center. Santana kept the lights off and her and Puck began lighting candles around the room.

"Uhh, guys, what exactly is this initiation? We're not going to be doing witchcraft or something are we? Cuz I'm pretty sure I'm a muggle." Brittany looked a tad worried. Santana just smirked.

"Just relax Britts, trust me, you'll enjoy this." Puck smiled.

After all the candles were lit, Santana opened the windows and turned on the fan. Then she lit some lavender incense on her dresser. Then, the three sat on her bed. It was a large bed, ok? Santana moved around a lot in her sleep and got sick of falling out of bed, so she made her parents get her a king. Puck then pulled something out of his jacket.

"What's that? A cigarette? My mom smokes those all the time…does that mean she's being initiated too? But if you smoke alone, how do you get initiated? I-"

"Britt, I'm pretty sure your mom doesn't smoke these. This isn't a cigarette." Puck mused.

"San? What is it?" Brittany questioned.

"You'll see. Just trust me, ok?" Brown eyes gazed into blue ones, and a calm settled over the room.

"Ok, this is what you do. Have you ever smoked a cigarette before?" Puck asked, stepping up as instructor.

"Only once, and when mother caught me she smacked me hard. Are you sure she'd be okay with this?" Brittany looked worried again.

"Hey, Britts, you're at Casa Lopez. Nobody can get you here, not even your mother. Trust me. What happens here, stays here. It's like a safe haven." Santana smiled, and held Brittany's hand for assurance.

"Ok, so remember when you puffed and breathed the smoke in? Well, you're gonna do the same thing here. Only you need to light it each time, ok? Unless it happens to stay lit, then we'll say it's "rollin" ok? Here, I'll start." Puck began and passed it to Santana. "Rollin'."

"One other thing that genius forgot to mention. Unlike cigarettes, you wanna hold this smoke in as long as you can before you breathe it out, okay? Like this." Santana demonstrated, and handed it to Brittany. "It's rollin Britts, go ahead. Just puff hard." She coughed. Brittany did as she was told. Her throat and chest felt like it was on fire, but it was oddly compelling.

"Looks like we got a champ over here! Didn't lip it or nothin'. Way to go!" Puck patted her on the back and took his turn. This went on for some time. After some time, the initiation was over.

"Wow guys, it's already 8. Do you just wanna sleep over? I can set up the sleeping bags in the living room, pop in a movie. Anybody want some snacks? I'm definitely hungry. Ooooh let's have some of Mami's casserole, I bet it's the enchilada one!" Santana jumped off the bed, suddenly eager for some casserole.

"I'm down." Said Puck, already making his way out of the room and down the stairs. Brittany just sat on the bed.

"Hey Britts, you comin?" She shook her head yes, and accepted the extended hand from Santana and wobbled off the bed. She tried to stand upright, but she felt slightly dizzy.

"Hey San, my vision seems funny. It's all fuzzy around the edges. Is it supposed to be like that?" Santana laughed.

"It's just how it's affecting you mi amor. Don't worry so much, just enjoy it. Hey, do you need to call your mom and let her know you're staying over?"

"Yeah, probably." Brittany grabbed her phone and noticed she had 3 missed calls and a text message, all from her mother.

_**Well Miss I can't answer my phone, dad decided he wanted to head to bed early, and I see you left your key at home. Don't bother coming home tonight, nobody will be up to answer the door.**_

_**-Mom**_

"Wow, Brittany, I'm sorry, I-" Santana began.

"No, don't. It's my fault. This isn't the first time. Damn, I need to be more responsible!" Brittany looked like she was going to cry.

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it. Your mom wasn't worried about how you were going to get home, she has no right making you feel bad now. I have some pjs you can wear tonight, and then just borrow an outfit for school tomorrow, k?" Santana hugged the girl close. Gawd that mom was such a bitch. She'd have to deal with that puta sooner or later.

"Thanks San. Let's go have some of that casserole before Noah eats it all!" The two girls laughed, stumbling down the stairs.

By 11pm, the front door was opening, and Mr. and Mrs. Lopez were walking in. They noticed Santana and Puck and a girl they didn't recognize sleeping on the living room floor, the tv running, and an empty casserole pan discarded to the side.

"Look mi amor, she's got a new friend! How exciting! See, I knew it would happen sooner or later!" Mrs. Lopez said to her husband, smiling.

"That she does. Hope it lasts this time." Mrs. Lopez swatted at her husband's arm. "Well honey, we just don't want another Rachel."

"Yes, that was a mess, wasn't it? Oh well, let's keep the past in the past. I'm just so glad my little girl is expanding her nest." With that, Mr. and Mrs. Lopez smiled and walked to their bedroom for some much needed rest.

_**Author's Note: Oooh, who could Santana's mystery cousin be? And what happened with her and Rachel? What a cliffhanger! Bet you can't wait til the next chapter! I do work this weekend and have my cousin's bridal shower on Sunday, but I will try to get a few chapters out for you guys within the week! Reviews make me happy :) And we all know happy writers write faster than sad ones! Thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following! Warms my 3!**_


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